Which of These Methods Do You Prefer for Pigmentation Removal?

Posted by florencewill123 on September 11th, 2015

Do you have brown-spots or “freckles” on your skin? Do feel awkward in a social hangout due to those spots on your face? If your answer is ‘Yes’, then it is high time that you removed these skin marks or the ‘pigmented lesions’.

The reason behind pigmented lesions

Our skin gets its usual colour through melanin, which develops from melanocyte cells. Pigmented lesions result due to the abnormal or excess concentration of melanin in your skin. People with dark skin hence have more melanin in their skin than those with light-coloured skins. While some people have pigmented lesions by birth, others may develop the discoloration due to UV exposure, skin trauma, aging, or changing hormones. Taking birth control pills may also lead to moles on your skin. Some common example include dyschromia, liver spots, freckles, solar lentigines, raised seborrhoeic keratoses, and more. These black or brown spots often tend to make the skin look older, which makes their removal a necessity.

Pigmented Lesion removal methods

Consult your dermatologist regarding the many methods for removal of pigmentation.

Topical lightening agents

These include serums or creams that lighten the pigmented lesions on the skin and are effective for skin problems like sunspots and freckles. However, they are not capable of removing the spots completely. These agents minimize the risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) and hence are helpful in preparing the skin for laser treatments. Some common topical lightening agents include Hydroquinone, Kojic acid, Paper mulberry, Glycolic acid, Vitamin C, Niacinamide, and more.

Intense-pulse light (IPL) therapy

As the name indicates, this method involves the role of intense pulsed light. The IPL devices direct pulses of high energy white light with wide spectrum on the affected potion of the skin. This light destroys the damaged cells, felicitates the production of collagen, and stimulates new skin cells. However, as a downside, this light is not as focused as lasers, and produces quite generalized effects and can often lead to burning of the surrounding skin and scarring. This therapy may still leave scope for improvement and does not remove pigmented lesions in entirety.

Laser treatment

This method is one of the most reliable and most preferred methods for removing pigmented lesions. . It produces a monochromatic beam of light that can focus on the targeted area more closely. This single wavelength is effective in destroying the specific damaged cells in the treatment area and allows the new cells to replace them. Like in the tattoo removal method, this procedure requires multiple sessions to remove the affected sells completely. There should be a gap of at least two week between consecutive laser treatment sessions for pigmented lesion removal.

Summary: Laser treatment, IPL therapy, etc., are helpful in pigmented lesions removal. It is always better to consult a dermatologist before opting for any of these treatment procedures.